7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (May 1)

3. Solid Tag Action

A step up from the segment that birthed it, Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Shelton Benjamin was a solid back-and-forth tag match between four performers with a perfect understanding of their respective roles. The heels kept things relatively slow and methodical, cutting the babyfaces off whenever they looked like building steam, and while Jeff and Randy kept it together from bell-to-bell, there was always the threat of one double-crossing the other.

This came to pass after the pinfall. An RKO/Swanton Bomb combination put Benjamin away, with Hardy scoring the pinfall. Jeff was then made to look a fool for trusting his serpentine Backlash opponent. Orton struck, downing Hardy with an RKO, adding an extra layer of heat to what's shaping up to be a fun midcard title bout.

The post-match is obviously what's most important, but all four wrestlers worked hard in the bout itself. When Chad Gable went to Raw, there was a worry that Shelton could be swallowed up by the same midcard void that consumed Tye Dillinger. Fortunately, it looks like he'll play gatekeeper in the US Title division. A solid role for him, and with Miz, Hardy, and Orton as the group's key stars, the scene looks healthy at the moment.